Other: Maria Christofilis

In 2009 while living in NYC, Maria Christofilis, a home fragrance expert, met and began working with some of the most celebrated perfumers in the world. Her welcome by this inner circle of distinguished perfumers was highlighted by a personal gift from master perfumer Rodrigo Flores-Roux, of the prestigious Swiss fragrance house, Givaudan®.

Named Fleur09-the essence of the flower, this gift immediately became Maria’s coveted scent and a personal treasure. And the more she wore it, the more she realized it was a treasure to be shared.

We spoke with Maria herself to get an insight into her story – a story that has her now launching her second fragrance under her namesake brand…

The story goes…I was born in US with deep European roots. I studied Art History and Fashion Design in Italy — and pursued a career in fashion.

Then I fell into Fragrance while living in Florence through a chemist who taught me the basics. He launched his brand in the US in 2003 then I launched my own home fragrance brand Anthousa in 2004 (putting diffusers in the US market in a major way). It was an amazing run and then the Fleur09 story began…. Living in NYC in 2009 while running Anthousa and consulting for John Varvatos fragrances the master perfumer / dear friend I was working with gave me a birthday gift — called a Flower for Maria. This is Fleur09. He created it with me in mind as a masterful tuberose white floral. I had to share it with others it was so perfect. I launched it in limited quantities in 2012. And here I am now…

The attraction to fragrance…I’ve always been a collector of fine things that inspire me. On the fragrance side, as long ago as I can remember I have loved fragrance and considered them a precious and special object. My first bottle of Charlie was from my father for Valentines Day, then I remember the CK Obsession, followed by my love for Alfred Sung — my taste level has certainly improved and evolved over the years…

On Fleur 09…It’s called Fleur09 because it was given to me as a birthday gift from master perfumer and dear friend Rodrigo Flores-Roux in 2009. It was created out of a friendship, with me in mind, as the perfect white floral. It was too amazing not to share.

About a name…Fleur — flowers
09 — the year it was created and given to me

The quality of the oils and extracts are premium and so expensive many times not used by perfumers. The most special note is a tuberose extract that is exclusive to my fragrance house, part of their ORPUR gold standard collection.

We can’t forget the process…The bottles are all hand poured and filled. The blown glass collection is offered in limited quantities as each bottle takes over 2 hours to create.

On living in NYC…It was wonderful to live in NYC but for me I prefer to dip into NYC throughout the year. I am energized when I spend a few days there but prefer to live in Seattle where my core family lives. Where I can have a more balanced lifestyle.

As always, we love to know career highlights…I love how it’s evolved from studying art history and fashion, then to fragrance and custom fine jewelry — and how they are all inter-connected for me.

On a personal note…I live in Seattle, WA where I was born and raised into a Greek immigrant family. My European roots have influenced all that I do and is a big part of my life with yearly visits back to Greece and Europe. Most recently, I was married in Mykonos Greece in 2012 where my newest fragrance is inspired. I have two young daughters, Eva 2 and Elena 3 months.

2016 looks like?Launching a new parfum called Mykonos12, the place and year I was married in Mykonos Greece. And a fall fragrance in the works that is inspired by a love letter. What energizes me is to continue to create and curate beautiful products and objects.